Lylat Chronicle
by RavenMechanical
Summary: After a disastrous First Contact with an unknown Alien Race, four Federation ships are caught in the crossfire of an alien war. Each captain has to make a choice: Who will they side with? What alliances will be forged? And what will become of the Lylat System? Or the Delta Quadrant as a whole?
1. Prologue: Two-Pronged Attack

_Captain's log, Chang Hirozanru commanding USS Apache NCC-59782 – Cheyenne-Class Cruiser…_

 _Stardate 88341.5…_

 _During our excursion to the Delta Quadrant as part of a group of Starships testing the Quantum Slipstream project, our sensors have detected multiple warp trails in a nearby binary star cluster. Starfleet has ordered our ship to investigate these readings, and make first contact if possible…_

The _Apache_ flew through space at Warp Six to the binary star system designated by the computer as E-7251. Captain Hirozanru, Hiro for short, sat in the captain's chair. He wondered what kind of new alien life they would encounter. They obviously had to be civilized, at least enough to develop warp drive.

"I wonder what their civilization is like..." Hiro mused.

"I am fairly certain their technology will be intriguing, but inferior." Commander Icheb, the first officer said.

"Oh, Icheb!" Hiro laughed. "You need to learn to lighten up!"

"Dropping out of warp at the edge of the system, captain." The Helmsman reported. The Starfield faded, revealing several planets and nebulae. The Nebulae were shaped like letters, one "X", one "Y" and one "Z."

The Science officer laughed. "Well, those nebuale certainly are interesting! Never encountered any shaped like letters before!"

Hiro couldn't help but crack a smile. This was definitely something unique, if not comical.

"Well, let's do our first in-system scan." Hiro said. "Sensors on full sweep."

"Aye, sir. Scanning now..." The Science officer reported. After a few moments, her console beeped.

"Sir, I've got multiple warp trails, going for the X-shaped nebula in this system. No other ships are present in our area. I'm also reading a lot of energy spikes coming from that area… I believe it could be weapons fire, I'm not sure."

Icheb looked at the screen. He turned to the science officer. "Bring up your scans on the main viewer."

The Science officer turned to Captain Hiro.

"Do it." He ordered. Moments later, the screen was lit up with data.

Hiro's smile faded. "Any ideas, Icheb?"

"There are many undiscovered peoples in this quadrant of space. I theorize we may have just jumped into a warzone."

"In that case, I hope you are wrong." Hiro said. "Ensign, set a course for those co-ordiantes. We still need to make first contact."

"Aye, sir." The Helmsman input the coordinates of the nebula on her console, setting the course into the navigational computer. "Course is set for the nebula, captain."

"Warp One. Engage." Hiro ordered.

Soon, the _Apache_ was flying through space at low warp, on course for the nebula, and imminent disaster.

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Venomian Crusier VES Hatred..._

Dash Oikenney watched as the Cornerian fleet got into combat formation to match his own fleet. This new war was going to put a new spin on things in the system. Soon, he would be ruling over everything, just as his Grandfather had intended.

He then noticed lights going off at one of his subordinates' stations. He got up, and walked over as the officer motioned towards him. According to the long-range scans, there was a new ship heading their way. A ship from outside of the system.

"The game's afoot..." Dash chuckled.

 _USS Apache…_

The Apache dropped out of warp, coming up on the edge of the Nebula. The sensor station went wild with alarms.

"Captain, I'm picking up multiple ships… They appear to be configured for combat, their weapons are powered and ready. It looks like they are all locked on each other at the moment..."

Captain Hiro scratched his chin. "Scan them. I want to know how much damage they can do if they decide to target us instead of each other."

"Scanning… Their ships are armed with high-power particle pulse cannons, and multiple warhead launchers. The canons pose a significant threat . The warheads however, present a much less of a threat. They appear to be matter-antimatter missiles, half the power of a standard photon torpedo. They present a threat to us in numbers, but that's it."

An alert then sounded off at Tactical. "Captain, we are being hailed by the lead ship nearest the nebula!"

Captain Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Open a channel. On screen."

On the screen was what appeared an anthropormorphic medium-height chimpanzee! Fur Colored white, with blue piercing eyes! It started to speak in an unknown tongue in a passive tone.

Captain Hiro looked quizzically at the screen. "Can the universal translator analyze that speech?"

"It's having trouble locking onto the specific speech patterns, sir." The Operations officer reported.

"Don't bother, Captain." The Ape spoke again, this time in fluent english. "It took us a while to locate the… rather old files on your language. A rather interesting language, nonetheless."

Captain Hiro was shocked. "How do you know our language?"

"I have my information channels." The Ape replied. "We've had… contacts throughout the Delta Quadrant that have gained information on your ship, what was it… _USS Voyager_ , I believe? It was enough for us to analyze the language you speak."

Captain Hiro was receptive of this, as it would seem a logical conclusion considering _Voyager's_ many Delta Quadrant encounters. "Reasonable enough."

"Oh, I have forgotten the most important courtesy of introductions: I am Dash Oikonny, of the Venomian Asendancy." The Ape said, introducing himself. "And you are?"

"Captan Chang Hirozanru of the _USS Apache_ , representing the United Federation of Planets." Captain Hiro replied. "So, don't tell me we've arrived in the middle of a neighborly squabble..."

Dash just chuckled. "Nothing so simple, I'm afraid. We've been engaged by a neighborly empire. They have decided we are too much of a threat to them, and have decided to engage us without provocation of any sort. If you would be kind enough to join up with our ranks, and fall into our fleet's formation, it would be greatly appreciated."

Captain Hiro frowned. "Sorry, Dash. Starfleet General order 35: No Starfleet ship may interfere with the affairs or conflict of any outside independent race or faction. My hands are tied here, I'm afraid."

Dash frowed, sighing. "How unfortunate. Then it seems we have no other options..."

The Tactical alert went off. "Sir! The lead Venomian ship is locking weapons on us! Directly onto our bridge!"

"Red Alert! Shields! Shields!" Captain Hiro rose out of his chair.

The Shields were brought up just in time as the Venomian dreadnought fired it's main particle weapons on the _Apache_!

"I believe this exchange is over." Dash then cut his transmission.

"Captain, we are being engaged by eight venomian ships!" Tactical reported.

"Specs and Armaments?" Hiro asked.

"Three of the engaging ships is armed with particle beams, point-defense pulse weapons, and what appears to be a large plasma cannon on the bow of the ship. They are two-thirds as big as a _Defiant_ -Class ship, according to readings, though they appear to be more like frigates. Defenses are advanced polarized hull plating that can be comparable to low-energy shielding." Ops reported. "Three more of the ships are half-the size of a _Constitution_ -class starship, with similar weaponry and added warhead launchers. The remaining two are roughly the size of a _Constitiution_ -class, except they are armed with point-defense pulse weapons, along with warhead launchers. They also are carrying several squadrons of small fighters."

"The three frigates are on an intercept course!" Tactical reported.

"Tactical, target the post-most frigate! Open fire, phasers only! Half power! Target their weapons and engines!" Captain Hiro ordered.

The screen lit up with phaser fire from the _Apache's_ arrays, burning up small sections of the enemy frigate's hull.

"Direct hit to their primary hull." Ops reported. "I'm detecting micro-fractures and partial buckling, but nothing serious."

"What?! How? They are only using hull plating, aren't they?!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Yes, sir. But it seems it is highly-developed. It is an equivalent match for our Phasers. Their hull plating could match the shielding of a _Miranda_ -class vessel."

The _Apache_ shook again from enemy weapons fire. Captain Hiro had enough of this. "Lock on two torpedoes on the frigate. Fire."

Two photon torpedoes flew across the screen, impacting the frigate with great force! One hit the port engine, while the other impacted on the bow! Sections of it's hull were torn apart from the torpedoes' explosions!

"Direct hit. Their main power supply is offline, and their port engines have been destroyed." Ops reported.

The two remaining frigates then opened fire with rapid plasma bursts, shaking the _Apache_ once again!

"Direct hit to the forward shields!" Tactical shouted.

"Fire phasers on full with a simultaneous spread of torpedoes!" Hiro shouted.

The main screen lit up with both phaser and torpedo fire! The first frigate was able to evade the torpedoes fired at it, bu the other two frigates were still hit, along with the dreadnought!

"One of them has lost it's primary weapons. Another is losing life support. The dreadnought has suffered minor damage."

The remaining frigate then opened fire with it's beam canons, lighting up the _Apache's_ shields!

"Focus phaser fire on that last frigate! Target their engines!" Hiro ordred.

The _Apache's_ phasers lit up the screen once again! They hit the frigate three times! The first shot fried the hull plating, the second caused sections of the hull to vaporize as the beam raked across it, and the third shot took out the engines!

"Three Venomian cruisers are locking weapons!" Ops reported.

"Shield strength?" Hiro asked.

"Shields are at seventy-five percent." Engineering reported.

"That's not good…" The tactical officer said, sweat on his brow.

"Keep it together, people! Target the cruisers, fire at will!" Hiro ordered. "Engineering, I need more power to the shields! Helm, evasive pattern delta seven!"

The first few shots of phaser and torpedo fire rang out from the _Apache_ as it started to maneuver through the debris of the destroyed vessels, using it for cover as it assaulted the Venomian cruisers!

"Minimal damage." Ops reported. "Their fore hull plating seems to be more heavily reinforced than any other part of the ship!"

The cruisers then opened fire on the _Apache_ with both beam and pulse weapons!

"Shields are at fifty percent!" Engineering reported.

"Scan those cruisers." Hiro ordred. "I want to know what damage we can cause."

"Scanning… Sir, their ventral hull plating seems less reinforced than any other part of the ship. If we are to attack any part of the ship, our weapons would be most effective there." Ops reported.

"Just like the Kessok ships..." Hiro mused. "Helm! Bring us underneath them! Tactical, prepare to fire a full spread of torpedoes at all three cruisers!" Hiro ordered.

The _Apache_ flew up underneath the cruisers, right into position.

"Fire at will!" Hiro ordered.

The _Apache's_ torpedo launchers lit up, firing bursts of torpedoes at all three cruisers at once! Between the impact and the explosions of the torpedoes, one was torn apart while the other two were heavily damaged.

"One cruiser destroyed." Ops reported. "The other two are heavily damaged. One has multiple hull breaches, the other has lost main power."

"Sir!" Ops reported. "The other side's armada has sent several ships on an intercept course! Their coming right at us, weapons hot!"

The Tactical officer panicked. "Their going to destroy us! We don't have enough shielding to withstand another assault!"

"Wait a minute!" Ops said. "I'm receiving a signal from the lead ship..."

"There's no time! They're going to destroy us!" The tactical officer snapped. "Firing on the lead ship!"

"No, wait!" Hiro snapped. "We haven't analyzed the signal, lieutenant!"

It was too late. The tactical officer had already programmed a fresh spread of torpedoes, and had hit the fire button.

All Hiro could do was watch as the screen went ablaze with Torpedo fire.

The wide, inaccurately-targeted spread hit several of the ships, while some of them missed entirely! Chunks of their hulls were blown straight off! One of the torpedoes hit one of the ship's engines, sending it into a spiral as it fell back. One torpedo grazed the incoming lead ship's hull.

Captain Hiro frowned, facepalming. He looked straight at the tactical officer with cold eyes. The tactical officer swallowed hard.

"You are hearby relieved of duty, Lieutenant." The Captain growled. "Security! Confine this officer to quarters until we get out of this situation… _IF_ we get out of it. Icheb, take the Tacitcal station."

The Apache then started to shake from a near-constant stream of weapons fire!

"Our shields are starting to buckle!" Engineering shouted over the alarms going off across the ship! "They are ready to collapse!"

"Helm! Get us out of here, warp seven!" Hiro snapped.

The helm did a hard right turn at full impulse, then engaged the warp drive. The _Apache_ flew out of the system at breakneck speed, avoiding what would have seemed certain destruction!


	2. Chapter 1: M'raia's Bad Day

_USS Tolkien – NCC-73112-A – Galaxy Class, Venture Refit_

 _En route to rendevous with USS Artemis – NCC-83234, Intrepid Class_

 _Commanded by Captain M'Raia - Caitian_

Captain M'Raia twitched her whiskers back and forth in agitation. She was not looking forward to her rendezvous with Captain Fethis of the _Artemis._ Of all the thick-headed beasts she had to get stuck with on the Quantum Slipstream tests, she had to get stuck with that ridiculous Gorn! How he even got into Starfleet was beyond her ability to figure out. All she knew was that they had been rivals since their first day at the academy, and now… Now, during the quantum slipstream tests, every time he argued with her over something… It almost seemed like he was twisting it into a type of flirtation! It infuriated her to no end!

"Dammit, Wilson!" M'Raia snapped to the Helmsman, slamming her hand down on the armrest of her chair. "How much longer?!"

The poor helmsman, Nick Wilson, nearly jumped out of chair at M'Raia's shouting. "Uh… Only about ten minutes more at Warp Five, Captain..."

M'Raia facepalmed. "And… Why may I ask are we moving at such a low warp factor?" She asked, whiskers twitching again.

"...Because that was your order, sir." The Helmsman answered nervously.

"Well, step it up to warp Seven!" M'Raia snapped. "I want our rendezvous with the _Artemis_ to be as quick as possible! No more delays!" She said, standing up.

"Oh, Cap'n! With all due respect, take a chill pill!" Tactical officer Robin Alan said bluntly. "It's only a standard rendezvous for updates on the local star charts..."

M'Raia turned to Alan with a leer. She was about ready to come completely unglued. "Does it _look_ like I give a damn, Lieutenant Alan?!"

Alan just grinned. "Well, apparently you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't be making such a fuss over it..."

"Don't push any more buttons, Robin!" M'Raia warned. "You know perfectly why I want this rendezvous to be over with as soon as possible, so drop it and do as your told!"

"Oh, certainly Cap'n Kitty..." Alan said jokingly.

M'Raia let out a loud hiss, looking behind her to Tactical. "What was that, Robin?!"

"Nothing." Alan said, smiling.

 _Meanwhile, on the USS Artemis – Intrepid Class_

 _Rendevous point_

Fethis seemed relaxed as he sat in the Captain's chair, looking forward to the rendezvous with the _Tolkein._ M'Raia had always been… Feisty, but these days being around her seemed to be more intoxicating than anything else.

"Ensign Galar, what's the status of the _Tolkein_ on our long-range sensors?" Fethis asked the Operations officer.

"They're still on course for our location. They've increased their speed to warp seven." The Bolian said.

Fethis scratched his chin. "Hmm… Seems she is eager to meet up."

"Or eager to get this over with." The Jem'Hadar tactical officer Gillig'Xun, or Gilgamesh as he was nicknamed by the crew said.

"Well, you certainly seem to be in a good mood, Gillig." Miral Paris said from the helm.

"Stow it, Paris!" Gillig snapped. "I'm still going through withdraw symptoms from the Ketracel White addiction treatment, and yes, it's making me "Moody" as you put it, so don't try me!"

Miral turned to face Gillig'Xun. "Really? You're going to blame your bad mood on your anti-white treatment? That's one hell of a way to thank Starfleet medical for this breakthrough!"

"You are pushing it, Paris!" Gillig growled. "Don't push it any further, or I might find incentive to break that nose of yours like your mother did to Lieutenant Karry all those years ago!"

"I'd like to see you try, Gilgamesh!" Paris challenged.

"All right, that's enough." Fethis said, standing up from his chair. "I will not have in-fighting among my crew, especially since we're out in the middle of nowhere with little Starfleet support! Calm down, both of you!" He tapped his com badge. "Bridge to sickbay. I think Lieutenant Gillig'Xun needs more of his anti-white treatment. Send medical to the bridge, stat."

Gillig'Xun sat down in his chiar at Tactical. He knew he was defeated in this situation. Plus, the captain was right. He did need another dose of Anti-White. The nurse came up to the bridge, and gave Gillig'Xun his next dose of Anti-White.

"Sir, the _Tolkein_ is here, they're dropping out of warp." Ensign Galar said.

Fethis sat down. "Open a channel."

 _USS Tolkein_

M'Raia was puzzled to see that the _Artemis_ had gotten to the rendezvous first.

"Hail them, Robin." M'Raia sighed.

"Channel open. They're responding." Lieutenant Alan reported.

Fethis then came up on screen on the bridge of the _Artemis_.

"M'Raia, always a pleasure." Fethis crooned.

"Stow it, Fethis!" M'Raia growled. "My Science officer's projections said you'd be here several minutes after I arrived, and yet here you are waiting..."

Fethis tilted his head, as if in thought. "I… May have cheated a little..."

"You used the Slipstream! I knew it!" M'Raia snapped. "Fethis, did the terms "Experimental" "Testing Phase" and "Highly Unstable" just go in one ear and out the other at mission briefing?"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad." Fethis said. "We actually managed to work out more of the bugs in the Slipstream this time around. We've nearly eliminated the phase variance problem completely..."

"It was too great a risk, Fethis! Do you not have any consideration for your crew or their families?" M'Raia ranted on.

"Must you be so frustrating, M'Raia?" Fethis asked. "It wasn't like we did the complete Alpha Quadrant jump at once! It was only a few dozen light years, at most!"

M'Raia facepalmed again, frustrated. "Will you just please not take any more unnecessary risks with the Slipstream?"

"The only way to work out the problems with this technology is by continuous testing, M'Raia. You know that as well as I do." Fethis responded with a grin.

M'Raia just shook her head.

Ops then went off with an alert. "Captain, I've got an incoming transmission… It's a distress signal from the _Apache_!" Ops officer Commander Kevin Landers reported.

M'Raia looked over to Ops. "Where are they, Kevin?"

Kevin brought up the information on his console. "They are in the Kuiper belt of a Binary Star System. Identity reads it as System E-7251. According to the transmission, they have suffered severe damage from an attack of unknown species."

Fethis looked back to the viewscreen. "Perhaps we could use the Slipstream to get to the _Apache_ quickly, before anything else happens? I could even send you the information about the Phase Variance fixes..."

M'Raia looked at Fethis, then threw up her arms. "Fine! Helm, lock onto the co-ordinates of the distress call! Set in a course, and engage Slipstream!"

Her bad day had only gotten worse.


	3. Chapter 2: Meet Star Fox

_Great Fox III_

 _Retrofitted X-02 Cornerian Carrier_

 _Orbit of Corneria_

 _Several Hours Later..._

Marcus James McCloud brushed a hand through his hair as he looked out the viewports of the bridge to see Corneria against the backdrop of Lylat and Solar. It stood out as a jewel of the Lylat System. Something to be admired.

Something worth protecting.

It was why he was worried about the recent news that had been going around. About the new ship that had appeared, and had not just attacked Venomian forces, but also the Cornerian Armada itself.

"You're over-analyzing things again..." A voice said behind him. Marcus turned around to see his twin sister, Miranda. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing her mercenary uniform. She was looking over Marcus' shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.

"Because your thoughts are basically spelling it out for me." Miranda chuckled

"Miranda, how many times have I told you not to do that?" Marcus asked, annoyed at the unwarranted mind probe. "Don't tell me, I already know why: You enjoy it too much. The joy is radiating off of you so loudly any empathic would feel like you were shouting it at them."

"That's why I do it." Miranda smiled. "Because it's fun, and you always come up with a witty comeback by doing the same thing. Using our telepathic and empathic abilities keeps them sharp."

"They're not sharp enough as it is?" Marcus questioned.

"Everything dulls with time if you don't use it enough. Just like skill, you need to keep your abilities sharp as well." Miranda said.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you're right… I guess I haven't been using my emapthic senses as much as I should. A little workout now and then wouldn't hurt."

"Come on, let's go get something to drink in the mess. We just got an industrial pallet of your favorite tea..." Miranda said.

Marcus perked up. "We got a shipment of Gruganberry tea?"

"Like I said, a whole pallet. Sealed and flash-frozen, guaranteed to last up to one-thousand years."

"Alright, let's go!" Marcus said excitedly.

 _Mess Hall_

Marcus and Miranda entered the mess hall. It was empty, and was quiet. Marcus went into the storage area and saw the pallet of Gruganberry tea. He grinned ear-to-ear. He opened one of the boxes, which held many smaller boxes of the tea. He then got one of the smaller boxes, and brought it into the kitchen. He saw Miranda was already there with some water in a kettle, putting it on the stove.

Marcus set the small box on the counter, and opened it. Inside were dozens of small tea packets. He got out two, and put them into some steel mugs. It was the standard for space travel kitchenware, as regular china did not have a high survival percentage in space.

"So, have you heard anything else about that giant ship that attacked both the Cornerian Defense Force and the Venomian Armada?" Marcus asked.

"Only that it scans the vessels it decides to target." Miranda answered. "That, along with the fact it's bigger than a Venomian dreadnought and it has strange symbols on it's hull."

"...And that it can fire anti-matter warheads that are more powerful than anything either the CDF or the Venomian Ascendancy have. So powerful, It crippled two Harlock frigates with just a few shots!" Marcus and Miranda turned to see Falco Lombardi enter the mess. "Not to mention it has particle beam weapons similar to a capital ship's beam cannon that it can fire off in nearly any direction."

"You're making that up!" Marcus said as he poured the water into the cups.

"No, fooling. I have a friend of a friend who was on one of the CDF Armada's front lines." Falco said.

"He's being quite truthful, Marcus." Miranda said. "I can tell."

Marcus then picked up his cup and took a sip of his tea. "It's still no big. All we have to do is throw a few well-aimed nova bombs at their engines, and cause a feedback loop through their Warp Drive..."

"Did I mention it has energy shields that envelop the entire craft? Energy shields that not even the Venomians had much luck penetrating?" Falco added.

Marucs lost his temper. He threw his mug at Falco, who ducked just in time. Instead of drenching Falco in hot tea, the cup just left a big red stain on the wall.

"Try again, butterfingers." Falco said.

That's when Fox, Marcus and Miranda's father, entered the room. He saw the stain on the wall, and looked at the group.

"What's this?" Fox thumbed at the stain. "Who did this? This is new! Marcus, what have I told you about throwing cups on the ship?" Fox then turned to Falco. "Falco, what did you do?"

"What do you mean, 'What did I do?'" Falco protested.

"Falco, I've known you for forty years. We've known each other since childhood. The only reason there would be a problem is because ninety percent of the time, you are the cause of it." Fox said. "Now what did you do?"

The communicator on Fox's wrist beeped. He held his wrist up, and activated the communicator. "Yes, Rob?"

"We have an incoming transmission from CDF Command. Please report to the bridge." Rob-64, the ship's android and main intelligence said.


	4. Chapter 3: The Contract

As Marcus and Company walked on the bridge, they were greeted by the Great Fox III's bridge panels and displays, showing the different readouts of the ship and the sensor grids around it. To their forward-left, they saw Rob-64 attending to his duties as the ship's automated management.

"General Peppy is waiting on us to answer the transmission." Rob reported.

"Bring it up, Rob." Marcus said.

Peppy was then brought up on the ship's main viewscreen.

"Greetings, Star Fox Team." General Peppy greeted the team warmly. "I'm glad to see all of you, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"It always seems we meet like this these days..." Falco commented.

"Not all the time." Fox corrected. "If you remember correctly, we had a good reunion a few months back..."

"Yes, indeed." Peppy said. "But as of now, the CDF has a job for you. You no doubt have heard of the "Mystery ship" that showed up a few hours ago? Well, everything you've heard about it is true. It attacked both the CDF and the Venomian Ascendancy fleets. It packs quite a punch, with powerful warheads equivalent to two times the power of a nova bomb, along with multiple particle beam weapons and energy shielding to boot."

"Told you." Falco muttered, which earned him an elbow to the ribs from Fox.

"As of now, we've tracked it's location to the Kuiper asteroid field in the edge of the system." Peppy exclaimed. "We have search parties out looking for the vessel, but pirate attacks have been thwarting our efforts to locate this ship. We need you to guard our latest scouts into the region and escort them through the Asteroid field while they scan for the hostile."

"The job pays 500 credits per hour. There will be a bonus 2500 credit bonus for finding and destroying the pirate's command ship. Any questions?"

"Just one." Marcus asked. "What do we do if we come across this mystery ship?"

Peppy sighed. "It's a tough ship, and it's got teeth to boot. We are hoping to open up some sort of communication and let them explain themselves. If you do come across the target, do not engage. I implore you, do not engage the mystery ship. Let the scouts handle it."

"So what kind of ships are the pirates using?" Miranda asked. "They can't have access to anything too powerful..."

"They're using the old X-01 cruisers and squadrons of outdated fighters carried on old freighters. Nothing too big, but they can get dangerous in numbers." Peppy said, bringing up the schematics on a holoprojector.

Falco whistled. "That's a blast from the past…."

Marcus looked at all the data, then decided after a few moments. "All right, Gramps. We accept this job. We'll head out immediately."

"Just remember: Do not engage the mystery ship if you should find it. Let the scouts handle it. Good Luck."

# # # # #

The _Great Fox III_ warped into the kuiper belt of the Lylat system with the latest scouting party. The scout ships began to start their scans, looking for the so-called "Mystery Ship." After a few hours of watching, waiting, and following their flight path, Marcus was growing bored.

"So far, a big cornucopia of nothing..." Marucs said, watching the scout ships outside the viewports. "This is boring. It's too quiet."

"Good point." Miranda said. "This doesn't seem like the noisy neighborhood Peppy described…"

"Just be patient." Fox said. "Pirates like to catch you when you are unaware. They'll probably wait for the best opportunity to surprise us..."

The Great Fox then shook suddenly, rocking hard to starboard, as viridian bolts of light smashed in the _Great Fox III's_ hull. The lights on the deck flickered on and off, and even ROB seemed to have trouble getting the ship to regain it's pitch!

"Hull plating at seventy-five percent." ROB reported. "Initiating Countermeasures. I'd get to your fighters instead of sitting around like Aquan Clams." The droid quipped to the mercenary pilots.

"Remind me to give him a memory-wipe after this is over..." Falco said as they ran for the fighter bay.

They quickly ran into the fighter bay. Marcus and Miranda were the first to board their Arwings; the latest models, X-04 type Arwings. Falco boarded his Arwing Skyclaw, and Skippy the Arwing Phoenix. Each pilot ran the startup sequence, and the engines of the Arwing fighters spooled to life, blasting out thrust and plasma.

"Arwings ready to launch, ROB!" Marcus reported. "Open the bay doors, and release docking clamps!"

"Sorry, I can't do that, Marcus." ROB said.

"ROB, Do _not_ quote that movie! Or you will be melted down!" Marcus warned.

"Just kidding." ROB replied. The bay doors opened, and the docking clamps were released! The Arwings rocketed out of the bay, flying out into space!

"I swear, I'm gonna wipe that droid's memory after this..." Falco muttered.

"Alright, focus people!" Marcus said. "Let's take these pirates down, play by play, by the books!"

The four Arwings flew into formation as the scout ships flew around the frigates in an attack pattern, firing their beam cannons at the second frigate. The _Great Fox III_ was going after the third one, firing beam cannons and missiles.

Marcus led the charge, firing his Arwing's blasters at the third frigate's bridge, followed in concert by Falco, Skippy, and Miranda. They then broke formation, and swarmed around the frigate, going for vital areas with blasters cannons and nova bombs.

Fox then appeared on the communication screens of the Arwings. "Alright guys, leave the second frigate alone. We're going to capture it after we take care of the other two frigates. That way, we can interrogate the crew and locate their command ship."

"Roger." The Arwing pilots replied. Marcus then disabled the third Frigate's sensor grid, effectively blinding them! Next, Falco did an attack run on their engines, sending a feedback loop through the third frigate's power core! The Arwings quickly distanced themselves from the ship as it exploded.

The _Great Fox III_ meanwhile, had been continuously firing on the first frigate, in concert with the scout ships. The hull plating on the first frigate failed after the constant volley of fire, and the ship split in half!

"The second freighter's turning away!" Marcus said. "It's running!"

"Remember: Pursue, and Disable. Don't destroy it." Fox said.

The Arwings then turned to pursue the quickly fleeing frigate, while the _Great Fox III_ and the scout ships stayed behind to continue their mission.

After a few minutes of pursuit, they caught up to the escaping frigate.

Marcus fired a volley of blaster shots at their engines, while Skippy fired scram-bombs at the engines as well. The Frigate was stopped dead in it's tracks.

"Awesome shooting, Skippy!" Marcus complimented. "Now let's take out their weapons!"

They Arwings then swarmed around the frigate, taking out their weapon turrets one by one. Soon, the Frigate was defenseless!

"Nice!" Marcus said. "Marcus to _Great Fox III_! The frigate has been disabled! Repeat: The Frigate has been disabled!

"Roger that. A scout ship is on it's way to board and interrogate the crew. Excellent work!" Fox said over the comm.

# # # # #

 _Twelve Hours Later…_

 _Kuiper Belt…_

Marcus waited on the bridge, watching the monitor feed as they interrogated the frigate's captain. So far, they weren't having much success.

"I'm losing my patience." Falco warned after punching the captain across the face. "Where. Is. Your. Boss ship?"

The captain just smiled a crooked smile. "Like I'm giving that up. Find him yourself."

Falco then lost his patience. He picked up the cuffed frigate captain and dragged him down to engineering, then raised him up over the rail, holding him by one hand above the engine's fiery plasma core! The Frigate pilot screamed in terror!

"Hurry up and talk." Falco said. "My arm's getting tired."

"That's never going to get results!" Fox said, a glare in his eye. He grabbed the frigate pilot, and threw him over into the wall. Fox then proceeded to grab a sharp-ended crowbar from a nearby tool kit, and walked up to the terrified frigate captain.

"This is how you interrogate someone!" Fox snarled, gripping the crowbar tightly as he closed in on his victim.

# # # # #

"...And we have twelve more frigates patrolling the Kuiper belt and the Nebulas, usually accompanied by one cruiser for support!" The frigate captain blurted out, spilling the rest of the information he had. "And each frigate carries ten fighters each, along with multiple munitions! The Boss ship is ususally docked at Sargosso station! If he's not there, he's usually at Titania, working out illicit trade deals! Just don't hurt me!" The frigate captain trembled where he sat.

"Is that all?" Fox asked, an edge in his voice.

"...and I've wet my bed since I was fourteen!" The Frigate captain covered his face with his arms.

"Wow." Falco said. "Too much information."

# # # # #

 _USS Apache_

Chang wondered how they were going to get out of this mess, annoyed with the fact that he had to confine his tactical officer to quarters. He was disappointed. The Tactical officer had passed his academy drills with flying colors. Now, he was going to have to be put on medical leave when they got back to Earth. If they got back to Earth. Right now, though, the _Apache_ was in silent running mode, so they could focus on repairs, and trying to escape to the very edge of the system so they could engage their warp engines. Then they could hopefully rendezvous with the rest of the Quantum Slipstream fleet and get back home.

"Sir! Five ships are coming out of warp! They are the same configuration as the ships that attacked us earlier!" Icheb said from tactical.

Chang Frowned. "Have they detected us, yet?"

Icheb checked his console. "They have, sir."

Chang sighed. "On Screen."

They screen was switched on, and they were face-to-face with four scout ships and a Heavy Carrier, with an emblem of a fox with wings painted on it's hull.

"The lead ship appears to be an assault carrier of some kind." Icheb said. "In out current state, we stand a twenty-eight percent chance of surviving another firefight. They are hailing us."

Chang was uneasy, but hopeful he could negotiate. "Open a channel."

An orange anthropomorphic fox, falcon, and a female blue fox then appeared on the screen, dressed in mercenary clothing. It didn't look too happy.

"Keez na-ra neet! Sa-Keer, de-raa no te-she mar ko netto!" The Fox said in a commanding tone.

"Sir, the universal translator is having trouble with the language." Ops said. "It's going to take a few moments for it to clear it up."

"Keez na-ra neet! Keez na-ra neet!" The fox repeated. Chang stood up, hoping the translator could do it's job.

"The next sentence should clear up, sir." Ops said.

"Unknown Ship, Respond! Explain your actions, or surrender and prepare to be boarded! Make any hostile moves and you will be destroyed! You have ten seconds to comply!" The Fox Commanded.

"That's definitely clear enough." The chief engineer muttered.

Chang's mind raced, realizing his options were limited. He sprang into action. "I am Captain Chang Hirozanru of the starship _Apache,_ representing the United Federation of Planets, we mean you no harm! My tactical officer panicked after we were attacked by your opposing faction! This was all a grave misunderstanding… We surrender. I repeat: We surrender. I will take full responsibility for my tactical officer's actions, but please… Don not harm my crew. We are very far from home, and I now fear we may never see it again..."

There was a pause. The Orange fox then stroked his chin, as if in thought.

"ROB! Mute the channel!"

# # # # #

 _Great Fox III_

"Fox, they could be lying." Falco cautioned as he watched the screen. "They could be defectors form the Venomian war. For all we know, this could be a new type of dreadnought they've built!"

"I have to agree, father." Marcus said from the ops station. "I mean, look at them! The look a lot like Dash! They could be Venomian!"

Fox wasn't entirely convinced. "Krystal, what are you sensing from them?"

Krystal closed her eyes, and focused. "...Lots of Fear, panic in their crew. Their morale is… very low. But what they speak is definitely truth. Their captain is not lying, not in the slightest sense."

Fox then looked to Skippy. "What's their ship's status?"

Skippy scanned the ship. "They have heavy damage to their shielding system, their hull has some damage as well. They are in what appears to be a silent running mode, trying to conduct repairs. Their weapons are not powered."

Fox thought for a minute. "Resume audio."

"Audio resumed." ROB said.

" _Apache_ , you will follow us back into the system back to Corneria, the forth planet. We will hear your explanation for this recent "misunderstanding." But be warned, show any force of agression, and you will be destroyed. Follow us back to Corneria. _Great Fox III_ out..."

Suddenly, the proximity alarm went off.

"Fox! We've got two ships dropping out of some sort of high-speed warp, and one of them is a big one!" Skippy shouted.

Fox looked to Skippy. "How big?"

He would soon wish he had not asked that question.

# # # # #

 _USS Tolkein_

"Dropping out of slipstream in three… two… one..." Ensign Wilson guided the _Tolkein_ out of slipstream alongside the _Artemis_. They were greeted by the _Apache_ , and five other ships that surrounded the Apache in what appeared to be a hostile formation!

"Yellow alert! Shields up!" M'raia hissed. "Robin! Give me a status report on the _Apache_ and those… unknowns!"

Robin Alan quickly scanned the hostile ships and the _Apache_. "The _Apache_ has taken severe damage from what appear to be weapons similar to type-4 to type-6 phasers and primitive plasma warheads. Judging by the damage, they've been basically pummeled by the equivalent of two low-power fleets. They are not in any condition to fight. The five other ships have their weapons powered, but they don't have energy shielding. They appear to be using a type of polarized hull plating instead of shields. And their comin' right at us!"

"Hail from the _Artemis_." Kevin Landers reported. "I'm patching it in."

Fethis then appeared on the screen.

"M'Raia, is it just me, or do these beings seem… suicidal?" Fethis said.

"Don't even think of firing on them first, Fethis!" M'raia warned. "Remember Starfleet reg number one: Don't attack unless _you_ are attacked! _Tolkein_ out!"

"Captain, we're being hailed by the lead ship." Kevin Landers reported.

M'raia scowled. "On screen."

They were then greeted by an anthropomorphic orange fox in military clothes!


	5. Chapter 4: Pirate Encounter

M'raia was surprised at what she saw on the screen. Nobody was prepared for this!

"Well, this is new..." M'raia muttered in surprise.

"Yeah, And I thought Caitians were one of the few animal-based species out there..." Robin Alan whispered.

# # # # #

 _Great Fox III_

"Dad… That's a cat! And a Lizard, too!" Macrus blurted out of turn at what they were seeing on the main monitor.

"Yes, I can see that, son." Fox said. "Unidentified ships, identify yourself!"

"This is Captain M'Raia of the Starship _Tolkein_ representing the United Federation of Planets. We are answering a distress call of our allied ship, the _USS Apache_. They said they had come under attack from vessels of an unknown origin." The Cat said, clearly stressed.

"Yes. As for me, I am Captain Fethis of the Starship Artemis, also here representing the United Federation. I hope, for both our sake, that you are not the attackers?" The Lizard spoke.

"Fethis!" M'Raia growled.

"Apologies, M'Raia." Fethis reigned in his Gorn impulses. "I'll let you handle this."

Fox looked between M'Raia and Fethis, puzzled. "Just who is in charge here between you two?"

M'Raia growled, losing her patience. "Ensign! Mute the audio between the unknown ship and us, but _keep_ the audio between us and the _Artemis_ open! Now!"

"Oh, gods..." Fethis said before the audio was muted. At that moment, all the Great Fox bridge crew could hear was silence, but they could clearly see that both Captain M'Raia and Fethis were shouting at each other, their features displaying rage and distress with great vigor.

"Uh… Krystal, what exactly is going on between these two captains?" Fox asked.

Krystal focused her telekinetic abilities. She then blushed, a nervous look on her face. "To put it politely, Fox… Captain Fethis has been making certain... "advances" towards Captain M'Raia for a few weeks now. Advances she doesn't… approve of. Also, due to this and them being so far from their home system, M'Raia has been under a great deal of… stress."

Falco raised an eyebrow. "Clarify this "Stress" you mentioned."

Fox just rolled his eyes, Facepalming as he tried to keep his composure at Falco's density to the situation.

"Okay, calm down… Just explain it to him calmly…" Krystal said calmingly.

"Hey Brother, What's with dad?" Miranda asked.

"Let's just say Dad's getting pissed at Falco's ignorance right now..." Marcus whispered. "As with the situation as a whole."

"To put it in layman's terms, Falco: Fethis has been hitting on M'Raia for the past few weeks, and doesn't know how to take a hint at the word "No." Fox said with a deadpan.

Falco's feathers ruffled. "Oh." He said, getting the idea.

 _# # # # #_

 _USS Apache_

Captain Hiro groaned, face in palm as Icheb monitored the communications between the _Artemis_ and _Tolkein._ He clearly was not approving of the situation, as he could tell from M'Raia and Fethis' body laungage that the mere shouting had graduated to full-blown yelling at each other.

"Icheb… Why are they doing this _now?_ Of all times?" Hiro sighed in his chair.

"Believe me when I say this, captain. Their emotional reaction to each other continues to elude even my logic." Icheb replied.

 _USS Tolkein_

"For _Once_ , for ONCE could you at least show _SOME_ professionalism, Fethis!" M'Raia yelled. "Just even a S _LIVER_ of Protocol and professionalism can do wonders for both your teamwork with others, and for your damn career!"

Fethis bared his teeth. "Professionalism?! YOU yell at me, berate me in front of a new alien speices, and possibly have tarnished the image of the _Entire_ Federation with this little spat in front of this unknown party, and YOU ARE LECTURING ME ABOUT PROFESSIONALISM?! When You haven't shown ANY AT ALL?! YOU'VE MADE A FOOL OF BOTH OF US!"

"FINE, THEN! DON'T ASK MY OPINION, NEXT TIME!" M'Raia yelled, slamming her hand down on the manual audio override on one of her arm wrest consoles. She then took in a deep breath, collecting her composure. She then noticed that the video feed between the _Tolkein_ and the unknown ship was still open.

M'Raia sighed, rubbing the temple of her forehead. "Ensign, reopen communication between us and the unknown ship…"

"Oh, Cap'n my Cap'n! You know, we've got _multiple_ _ships converging on our position!_ " Robin Alan blurted out loudly from his station, finally getting M'Raia's attention. "With _weapons powered!_ "

The _Tolkein_ suddenly rocked to port, shaking under weapons fire. M'raia held onto the armwrests of her chair to avoid being ejected from it!

"Minor damage to primary hull!" Robin reported.

"Red alert!" M'Raia snapped. "Raise shields, power up weapons!"

"Shields are up! Weapons are powered and ready!" Robin reported as the ship's red alert lights and klaxon went off.

"How many other ships are there, Robin?" M'Raia asked.

"Nine frigates, three cruisers, and one primary battleship." Robin answered.

"Pirates." The Fox said on the screen. "We were searching for them before we found the _Apache._

"We are being hailed by the main battleship! Both us and the _Artemis_!" Kevin Landers reported.

"On Screen." M'Raia ordered.

On the screen was an ape in pirate's clothes. It was laughing even before the hail was answered.

"Ar har har har har har! Great argument, Cap'n M'Raia! You certainly gave Cap'n Fethis a tongue lashin'! You'd make a good lawyer with that mouth! I wonder what else it could be used for..." The ape said with a crooked smile.

"Excuse me?!" M'Raia hisssed. M'Raia was beyond her limit now. So was Fethis, as the look on his face screamed bloody murder at that comment by the pirate captain. M'Raia then turned to Fethis on the screen.

"Fethis, do you mind taking out the trash while I take care of the dishes?" M'Raia asked, referreing to the incoming firefight.

"Gladly." Fethis said. "Lieutenant! Go after the main ship! Target their bridge module!"


	6. Chapter 5: Alliance

The _Artemis_ flew around the _Tolkein_ , charging directly at the lead pirate cruiser, unleashing a barrage of photon torpedoes. The poor X-01 pirate cruiser didn't even get a chance to fire back as it was torn apart by the torpedoes and their explosions!  
The _Tolkein_ then went after the main pirate dreadnought, plowing it's way past the other ships with phaser fire and brute force! The pirate's fleet immediately broke formation in order to avoid colliding with the colossal ship! The frigates that refused to move were met with destruction via photon torpedoes! By the time the _Tolkein_ got in range of the dreadnought, three frigates were completely destroyed!

"Status on the Crusiers, Robin!" M'Raia ordered.

"Well, Cap'n, the first cruiser's hull plating is at 45%, the second, 27%." Robin reported. "Oh, and we've scrapped three of their frigates that failed to move out of the way in time..."

M'Raia nodded her head in approval. "Noted. Hail the dreadnought. If they don't surrender, well… You have my permission to pick off their subsystems at will."

"Got it. Hailing the dreadnought..." Robin keyed in the command on his Lcars console. The Dreadnought's monkey captain appeared on screen, clearly flustered.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SHITES ARE YA?!" The captain hollered in rage. "HOW DID YOU DESTROY OUR SHIPS IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME?! AND HOW DID YOU WITHSTAND OUR WEAPONS FIRE SO EASILY?! WE JUST BOUGHT THOSE FRIGATES FROM PAPETOON, WITH BRAND NEW BLACK MARKET MILITARY-GRADE BEAM CANNONS! THEY WOULD HAVE HEAVILY DAMAGED ANY NORMAL SHIP….!"

"Well, as you can clearly see, we are beyond your definition of 'normal.'" M'raia crossed her legs casually as she sat in the captain's chair. "To us, your tech is… what is a blunt, yet polite way to put it? Oh yes: Antiquated. Now, as for the situation, _you_ have not just committed an act of aggression against the local military, but against the United Federation of Planets itself. If you do not withdraw immediately, we will have no other choice but to use all the "Unique and abnormally powerful" technologies at our command to defend ourselves. You have thirty seconds to comply."

The Pirate Captain turned beetroot red. "I DON'T CARE WHO YA ARE, WE ARE TAKING YOU OUT! YOU DO NOT GET AWAY WITH THREATENING THE SARGOSSAN SUNS…"

"Robin, target their engines and life support." M'Raia said, raising her hand to give the order. "On my mark..."

"WAIT!" The pirate captain panicked. "WA-WAI-WAIT! We… We surrender! Just give us time to power down our weapons, engines, and hull plating! Just don't shoot another doomsday device at us!"

"That's better." M'raia purred. She signaled Robin to cut the transmission. "Robin, keep that ship in your sights, and let me know when they have complied with our… request."

 _Great Fox III_

Fox was impressed, an eyebrow raised as he observed the situation. He was pleased with the way Captain M'raia and Captain Fethis had handled the situation, which was no easy feat. Yet she made it look that way. Falco was laughing heartily at the pirate's misfortune, enjoying the situation very much!

Marcus was completely enraptured by M'Raia and her gusto in the situation. "She's so awesome…" He said, wide-eyed as he watched her on the screen.

Miranda just rolled her eyes at that comment. "It's probably mostly their technology."

"Marcus, hail the ship called the _Tolkein_." Fox said. "I wish to... congratulate them on their victory."

"Gladly, father!" Marcus said, rushing towards the console.


	7. Chapter 6: Lylat

" _USS Tolkein_ and _USS Artemis_ , This is Fox McCloud. I wish to congratulate you both on your teamwork and victory." Fox said.

"Yeah, That was quite an impressive tag-team strategy. You work really well together." Marcus blurted.

Fethis looked at M'Raia on the screen, and gave her a wink of approval.

M'Raia laughed, rolling her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. McCloud. Now, is there anything we can do about the situation with our other ship, the _Apache_?"

"Yes, about that..." Fox said. "I'm thinking since this may be a big misunderstanding, I Propose that we all go back to Corneria and explain the situation to General Peppy. He will understand. That, and I'm sure we could repair the Apache at the Space Dynamics shipyard, considering my old friend Slippy could help out with the tech since it seems more advanced than usual."

"That sounds reasonable." M'Raia said. "What do you think, Fethis?"

"Sounds good to me." Fethis agreed. "We will follow your ships back into the system. I'm sure we can get this resolved."

"All ships, set course for the Planet Corneira, warp one. Engage." M'raia ordered.

# # # # # # #

 _Space Dynamics Repair Yard_

 _Six hours later…_

The Scout force with the _Tolkein, Artermis,_ and the damaged _Apache_ arrived at Corneria, the fourth planet of the Lylat system. Fox took in a deep breath, wondering how he was going to explain the situation to Peppy. He knew he was most likely going to yell at him for bringing not just the one doomsday ship, but two more.

"Alright. Marcus, open a channel to Grandpa..." Fox said.

"Woo! You know he's going to yell at you, don't you?" Falco said.

If looks could kill, Fox's glare at Falco would have made a star go into an apocalyptic supernova.

Falco put up his hands. "Shutting up."

"Marcus, open the channel." Fox repeated. Marcus did so.

"Hey, General… Good news, I've got the doomsday ship in tow..." Fox said.  
"Yes, I can see that!" Peppy snapped. "The big question is, why are there two more with you?! You do know this is the capital of the Lylat System, don't you?!"

Fox's ears folded back, as he was intimidated by Peppy's anger. "Yeah, about that… The whole thing with the "doomsday ship," I think it was all a misunderstanding..."

Peppy exploded at that comment. "A MISUNDERSTANDING?! HOW IS ONE HEAVILY-DAMAGED BATTLESHIP, THREE DEMOLISHED CRUISERS, AND SEVERAL CRIPPLED DESTROYERS A MISUNDERSTANDING!"

It was at that point that Captain Hiro cut in to the transmission. "I believe I must apologize for that. My tactical officer panicked when your ships were on approach, and got ah… trigger happy with our torpedoes. I will take full responsibility for this."

General peppy steepened his hands underneath his nose, taking in a deep breath. "May I ask what you have done with this tactical officer, Captain..."

"Chang Hirozanru, Hiro for short." Captain Hiro explained. "As for what has happened to the tactical officer, he has been confined to quarters until we get back to our space, and will face severe punishment for his actions. Which will include prison time."

Peppy nodded his head, trying to calm himself. "That is definitely satisfactory, Captain Hiro. So Fox, what about the other two ships?"

Fox began to explain. "Well, they were sent to find the ship that entered our system, which is known to them as the _USS Apache_. The other two ships are the _USS Tolkein_ , and the _USS Artemis_. May I introduce their commanding officers, Captain M'raia and Captain Fethis."

Captain M'raia and Fethis then joined the transmission. "General Peppy, was it? I wish our first contact could have been under better circumstances. We sincerely apologize for the _Apache's_ tactical officer's blunder."

General Peppy sighed. "So Fox, how did you figure out for sure this was a misunderstanding?"

"Well, General… When you sent us our after the pirates, we stumbled across their ships. They never fired on us when we came across them. Surprisingly, they initiated contact first. We were prepared to engage to destroy, but Captain M'raia was able to talk us down before things escalated any further. Then, when the pirates attacked, both ships assisted us in a counterattack."

Peppy raised his brow. "Interesting." He turned to Captain M'raia and Fethis. "Well, Captain M'raia and Captain Fethis… I must thank you for rendering assistance to Fox and his scout crew take on those pirate ships. That would have been a much tougher fight for them had they been forced to engage them alone."

"You're very welcome, General." M'raia said. "To be honest, we are actually on a mission of exploration and peace, far from our own space."

General peppy smiled. "Very well. I'm sure there would be some time to arrange a more formal meeting for discussing strengthening ties between our government, and your, uh…"

"United Federation of Planets." Captain M'raia said. "We'd very much like that. However, I kindly ask that you postpone that for a few days. We have made contact with our government on our way in the system and have another ship en route: the USS Enterprise, commanded by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. He is much more adept in diplomacy than I am, so I kindly ask that you wait for him to arrive. Should take no more than three days."

"Very well." Peppy nodded. "In the meantime, I will allow your crews to take shore leave here on Corneria while we wait."

"That is very kind of you." M'raia said. "Also, may I ask that we use the System Dynamics repair yard to make some repairs to the Apache? Fox mentioned they may be able to help with some of the damage."

Peppy paused for a moment, thinking. "...I believe that is a fair request, considering we caused the _Apache_ a good amount of damage during this misunderstanding. The repair yard will be open for the Apache as soon as possible. I will make contact to let them know you are on their way."

"Thank you." Captain M'raia nodded.

"If you ships will follow mine, Captain Hiro. Have the _Apache_ match speed with the _Great Fox_." Fox said.

"So, this friend of yours, Slippy. I assumed he is very good with technology?" Chang asked as they _Apache_ veered off from the main group with the Great Fox.

"That would be an understatement." Fox said. "From what I've seen, he is more of a miracle worker."

"Sounds like a regular Motgomery Scott." Chang said. "He was a famous engineer back in the early days of the Federation."

In a few moments, they came up on the other side of the planet near one of Corneria's moons. The repair yard was in orbit of the moon. Fox made contact.

"This is _Great Fox_ to Space Dynamics Dry Dock requesting docking permission and clearance for the yard for ship repair?" Fox said.

In a few second, Slippy came up on the screen. "Heya, Fox! Long time no see!"

"I know, right?" Fox said. "I've got a ship here with me that needs repairs."

"Oh yeah! Peppy told me about that!" Slippy said, going ecstatic. "Is is true that they have energy shielding? Along with Matter-Antimatter warheads, and faster than light technology more advanced than our own?"

"One thing at a time, Slippy." Fox said in a friendly tone. "Right now, the _Apache_ just needs some repairs."

"Oh! Right, sorry." Slippy said with a nervous laugh. "Permission granted. You can bring her in."

"Thank you, Mister Slippy." Chang said. "I will have our chief engineer send over schematics to assist in repairs. Helm, take her in."


	8. Chapter 7: Enterprise

_Author's note: For those questioning why the Enterprise-E is in this, I have decided to make this story take place in an AU after the events of Starbase 236 where the Enterprise-E survived the Undine attack in Star Trek: Online._

Three Days Later…

Edge of the Lylat System...

The _Tolkein, Artemis,_ and the _Great Fox_ were waiting at the rendezvous coordinates for the _Enterprise_. General Peppy was on the bridge of the _Great Fox_ , waiting for the rendezvous.

"Okay, _Enterprise_ should be dropping out of Transwarp in five… four… three… two… one..."

It was then that a transwarp aperture opened up in front of the three ships. Exiting the aperture was the Sovereign-class _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-E!

"So you also have a type of gate?" Peppy asked.

"A gate?" M'Raia asked, puzzled.

"Oh, forgive me for not explaining." Peppy said. "To keep things short, the gate is our primary means of FTL travel outside the system. Though we have similar warp capabilities, as you call it, they are mainly used for efficient in-system travel. I will explain this in further detail back at Corneria."

Fox gazed at the _Enterprise-_ E. "Impressive." He mused.

Fethis smiled. "Yes, the _Enterprise_ NCC-1701 E. The sixth ship in the Federation to bear the famous name of exploration. And that name has been borne well with every ship that has carried it."

"The Sixth ship to bear the name? She must be your flagship, I assume?" Fox raised an eyebrow.

"You are correct, Captain McCloud." Fethis said. "You are about to meet one of the most famous figures of the Federation. Few people have had the privilage to meet him in person, besides those close to him. His name is Jean-Luc Picard."

"Captain M'Raia, The _Enterprise_ is hailing all ships on a broadcast frequency." Kevin Landers reported on the _Tolkein_.

M'raia smiled happily. "Open a channel."

On the screens of all the ships appeared an elderly human, who was still in good shape and form for duty.

"Greetings, I am Admiral Jean-Luc Picard of the United Federation of planets, and will be one of the Primary negotiators for this conference with the Corneirans."

"Good to see you, Admiral." M'raia said. "It's been a long time."

"Indeed it has, Captain M'raia." Picard said. "I see you now have your own command. Congratulations. Now, onto the matter of the negotiations, which one of you is General Peppy?"

"That would be me, Admiral Picard." Peppy replied. "It's good to see that there are still good men in the higher echelons. I am anxious to get back to Corneria and discuss these negotiations."

"Indeed." Picard said. "I am looking forward to it. Shall we be off?"

"Roger that, Picard. I look forward to meeting you in person. Peppy out." The transmission then ended, and they got on their way back to Corneria.

Corneria City

Defense Force HQ

Conference Room

One Hour later…

"It appears there has been a misunderstanding with the _Apache_ and your forces?" Picard pointed out at the negotiations table.

"Unfortunately, Yes Admiral." Peppy said. "We were attacked by another power in the system known as the Venomian Empire. Your Apache had been caught in the crossfire in an encounter between our people and them. According to Captain Hirozanru, when our ships moved to assist, their tactical officer panicked, and opened fire on our ships as well with your matter-antimatter warhead weapons."

"Photon torpedoes..." Picard's expression showed surprise and sadness. "They must have caused some severe damage to your ships, then."

" _Very_ severe." Peppy said. "Seven ships were hit. Three cruisers were destroyed, three destroyers were crippled, and one of battleships took a hit as well and is in drydock undergoing superficial repairs. As for the Destroyers, they are being decommissioned due to the extent of the damage they took. I must say, for a civilization who seems to pursue peace, you certainly have some damned effective weapons."

"To be honest general, our Federation has had to learn to defend itself from, shall we say "less friendly" Encounters in our brief existence of 250 years." Picard explained. "As of late, we have still been getting over some very disastrous wars with a government from the Gamma Quadrant known as the Dominion, as well as a nearby local threat here known as the Borg. To be honest, the photon torpedo is a standard-level weapon on all of our star ships."

Peppy's expression showed worry. "Nearby, you say? Do they pose a threat?"

"The Borg are a race of Cybernetic-enhanced beings that are connected across a subspace domain in a hive mind known as the Collective." Admiral Janeway, who has also come along on the Enterprise for the negotiations, explained to Peppy. "They strive for perfection, and have attempted to achieve it through the assimilation of other species, cultures, and technology. The reason you have not encountered them yet, I believe, is because they would find your technology… a bit primitive on their standards, thus they would not believe you would be worthy of assimilation."

"I see." Peppy said. "Alright. Now that the status of the Borg has been established, back to business. Admiral, I was thinking it may be beneficial for both of us to establish diplomatic ties with each other. You are the other only government we have had contact with, other than our encounter with another similar race to your Borg, known as the Aparoids. They invaded the system years ago, and we were forced to wipe them out for our own survival."

"Aparoids..." Janeway looked intrigued. "I'll have to ask about them later."

General Peppy then looked at the time, realizing how late it was getting. It was already late at night on the planet. "It's getting late. We shall stop negotiations in an hour and continue them tomorrow at 0900 local time. In the meantime, I could offer your crews shore leave while you are here."

M'raia looked puzzled. "If I may ask, Do you use any sort of currency?"

"Yes, we do. Cornerian credits." Peppy said, getting out a few chits from his breast pocket. "Why do you ask?"

Picard pursed his lips. "This may be a bit of a problem. Our Federation works on trading goods, yet we don't have a currency system."

Peppy stroked his beard. "Huh. That is going to be a problem. Do any of your local races use a currency system?"

"The only one in our Federation to use a currency system is the Ferengi. They trade in a commodity known as Gold-Pressed Latium." Picard brought up a picture of a Latinum ingot on the table's holoemitter. "The Latinum, a precious liquid metal, is encased in hollow gold-pressed ingots like this one. We have a small shipment of them on all four of our ships for trade negotiations."

"A precious metal encased in a precious metal. Interesting." Peppy said. "I belive we could work something out with our banks, as our currency system is commodity-based. Transfer the Latinum to their vaults, and they will appraise it and transfer it's value in credits to a global account for the Federation. That way, things can be kept simple and we won't have to open multiple individual accounts for each individual of your crews."

Captain Picard thought it over. "This should be quite acceptable. We shall beam down the Latinum to your banks for appraisal."

"Beam?" Peppy asked, puzzled.

"Oh, forgive me." Picard said. "You do not use Matter-to-Energy transportation?"

Peppy looked shocked. "Oh! I'm afraid we don't. We experimented with it once, but it ended in disaster! The process copied and destroyed the original test subject, so we haven't bothered with it sense!" Peppy was now worried, as was the rest of the Cornerians in the room. "Are you telling me you actually use such technology?"

"To be honest, it isn't direct matter-to-energy transport." Fethis explained, calming things down. "To keep it simple, the subject is transferred into subspace during the process, then returned to normal space once the process is complete. It's quite harmless."

Peppy sighed in relief. "That explains it. I'll have to explain this to my lower subordinates and send out a bulletin on the local news networks so we don't have a civilian panic."

"Very well." Picard said. "We will wait for your government's signal to transfer the Latinum. In the meantime, we will abide by your request to resume negotiations tomorrow at 0900."

"Indeed." Peppy said, as everyone got up from the table. "This meeting is dismissed. See you tomorrow at 0900."


	9. Chapter 8: Shore Leave

_Corneria City_

 _CDF Military Base_

 _Flight Simulator Area_

Marcus and Miranda walked through the rows of flight simulator pods the CDF Military Base used, until they reached the ones reserved for use by the Star Fox Team. Marcus scrolled through the list of possible scenarios until they found one that seemed to hit home in these troubled times. The Venomian Invasion scenario.

Miranda realized what scenario Marcus had picked. "Guess this shows how tense things are, considering you are picking that scenario."

Marcus sighed. He realized she was right. "True enough, considering the circumstances."

Miranda gave Marcus a sideways look, a playful look in her eye. "However, your mind seems to be on more than current circumstances."

Marcus blinked, looking around. "What are you talking about, Miranda? What else could be on my mind besides current circumstances?"

Miranda scoffed. "Oh, come on Marcus! I'm a telepath, and you are one of the easiest people to read. Your mind is preoccupied with, what could it be called? Your crush on the feline starship captain of the _Tolkein_?"

Marcus started blabbering his innocence. "Wha-wha-wha?! I-I-I don't have a crush on her! Why would I have a crush on her? I-I mean, she is confident, brave, and headstrong but she's way out of my league!"

Miranda smiled. "Guilty as charged."

Marcus tried to counter. "You cheated anyway! You used telepathy!"

Miranda smiled. "I didn't know using my gifts could be cheating."

Marcus was flustered. "You still had to dig for that!"

Miranda giggled. "Well then, hop into the simulator brother. Time for you to take second place."

Marcus gave his sister a fake scowl. "Ha. Insult to injury, is it? Time to give you some payback and get the most kills."

They hopped into two of the pods, and began the start up sequence.

# # # # # #

 _Meanwhile, at a local shopping plaza in the city…_

The transporter beam shone bright for a few seconds, materializing M'Raia, Kevin Landers, Robin Alan, and Nick Wilson from the _Tolkein._ All were adorned in civilian clothing, thought they still had their comm badges.

"Oh wow..." Robin said. "It's just like Cait all over again, only this time with the addition of… dog-like beings."

"Not to mention reptiles." Nick pointed out.

"Careful, Cap'n." Robin smiled. "They might just chase ya."

M'Raia glared at Robin. "Har har. Very funny, Robin."

Robin took a sarcastic bow. "Thank you, Cap'n. I'm here every Thursday night."

M'raia rolled her eyes with a sigh. "So, Nick. Where are the nearest restaurants according to the guide the General sent?"

Nick Wilson got out a tricorder, and activated a holo-emitter on it. It displayed a map of the entire city. "There's a cafe' to our west. Five-minute walk."

"Sounds good." M'raia said. "I'm a bit famished."

"Same here." Robin said. "And I'm curious about the local cuisine."

# # # # # # #

M'Raia and the group walked up to the cafe, as they walked through the high class neighborhood. She and the others noticed the high-class surroundings.

"This must be a very high class neighborhood." M'Raia noted. "We better be on our best behavior."

Robin got a fake evil grin on his face. "Oh, I wouldn't even think of misbehavin.'" He joked, then turned serious.

The group walked into the cafe. Their surroundings were very elaborate, with silk curtains and polished marble and granite floors. The tables were black, covered with white tablecloths topped with vases full of elegant crystals. M'Raia knew Robin wouldn't mess around in here. It was too posh of a location for that. Thank goodness their attire matched with the classes around them. It was then that M'raia noticed her group was being watched by a feline-like being, with black fur. He was very well-adorned, a match in his surroundings. He had a red rose in his left breast pocket. It surprised her a bit to see a rose in the delta quadrant on an alien planet. A Rose? She thought to herself. All this way out here?

They were met inside by a waiter, whom had the appearance of a bloodhound. "So, will it just be the five of your party?"

"Um… Yes, just us." M'Raia said.

"Table or booth?"

M'Raia looked to the others. They all agreed. "Booth please."

"Follow me, please." The waiter said.

The were led to a nearby booth, and the waiter gave them menus. "Take your time. I will be back shortly to take your order."

It was shortly afterwards that the feline-like being walked up to their table. He took a bow, and introduced himself.

"Greetings. You must be the new arrivals from out of the system. I am Panther Caroso. Here's to us." He seemed to produce a rose from out of thin air, and set in on the table in front of M'Raia. Then he walked off.

There was a silence for a moment. Then, Robin spoke up.

"Seems you have a secret admirer, Cap'n." Robin said with a grin.

"Indeed." M'Raia said, looking over the rose with unease.

They returned to their menus. Shortly afterwards, the waiter came back.

"Are you ready to order?" He asked politely.

With that, they placed some orders for food and drink.

"So, Nick. What's your story?" Robin Asked.

"Oh, you don't want to know." Nick Wilson said. "I'm pretty boring."

"Aw, come on." Robin pried. "You can't be that dull. You come from a long lineage of great starfleet personnel. I read your great-grandfather served on the _Enterprise_ -B."

"Well, for one: I like reading books on failed twentieth-century social economic polices, two: My father died in the Klingon-Federation war on the _USS Bishop_ , and I never got over it. You must be wondering: Why hasn't this handsome bachelor swept a lucky girl off her feet yet? Like I said: I'm boring." Nick finished.

"...Oh. Your father was on the _Bishop_..." Robin looked sad. "My brother was on that ship, too. He was the first officer..."

M'Raia looked at Robin, surprised. "Robin, you never told me this."

"Well, A guy's got to keep some secrets after all." Robin replied.

"Hey, at least you knew your families!" Kevin said bluntly. "I never got the chance to know mine..."

M'Raia looked at Kevin. "What happened to yours, Kevin?"

Kevin sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so blunt. Unfortunately, I don't know. I don't remember them enough… All I remember is I was found on Bajor after the Federation liberated it from the Cardassians during the Dominion War by a Starfleet officer and his wife. They took me in, and raised me as their own. I've always been grateful to them for that. That's one of the reasons I joined Starfleet."

"So, considering we're having a bit of character development, what about you, Cap'n?" Robin asked. "After all, we've shared our enduring backstories."

M'Raia sighed. "Really, Robin?" She shrugged, closing her eyes. "Well, then. Let's see… I pretty much had a normal life growing up. Until I got into Starfleet Academy. You see, I'm a bit taller than the average Caitian. So a bunch of bullies would always call me "M'Raia beanstalk," to my face no less. I'd run away crying, and they'd just laugh..."

Kevin smiled. "Bet they're not laughing anymore."

"Nope." M'raia said with a smirk. "Now they have to spend all day, looking at me and my awesome command while _they_ are still stuck as Lieutenants and Ensigns. It's funny how things turn out later down the road..."

"So, Cap'n..." Robin said. "I heard you have some interesting hobbies."

"Oh?" M'Raia said. "What have you heard?"

"Well, you have an interesting taste in novels, for one." Robin said. "You seem to like early 20th century science fiction."

M'Raia shrugged. "Yes, I am as you like to say 'guilty as charged.' My favorite novel series so far is called 'Stainless Steel Rat' by Harry Harrison. It's about a man named Jim who is a con man and bank robber, back when that was a thing. Then he gets out-conned and has to join the Special Corps, an elite police unit in the galaxy."

"Huh." Robin mused. "That's quite a bit of irony, isn't it?"

"Exactly." M'raia chuckled. "So, Lieutanant. Since turnabout is fair play, what are your interests?"

"Well, I play late 20th century video games." Robin replied.

"What's a video game?" Kevin asked. The group was equally puzzled by what Robin said.

"It's a form of pre-holodeck entertainment where you play as a character on a screen with a controller device. They were popular during and after the Eugenics war." Robin explained. "There are many genres, such as Action, Roleplaying, Real-time Strategy, et cetra."

Nick's interest was piqued. "Real time strategy? That sounds interesting."

Robin chuckled. "Well, maybe I should show you Command and Conquer."

With that, the waiter came back and they ordered their lunches. The cuisine was similar to most Federation cultures, with some alien touches here and there.

After they finished eating, they paid their fees and left the cafe.

It was then that M'raia noticed someone in the crowd. It was a blue Cornerian Fox. The same one she saw earlier when they were negotiating with the Cornerian government. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, looking at something on a tablet-like device and speaking to someone on what appeared to be a com-link on a wristband.

The thing was, she didn't realize how close he was until they were inches apart and he ran right into her. She ran smack straight into the guy, as the fox dropped his tablet onto the ground! She felt herself falling down, then… she suddenly stopped.

M'raia then noticed there were arms around her back, and she was looking straight into the Fox's eyes. She recognized the Fox immediately. It was the one called Marcus!

There was an awkward silence. Then, it was broken by Robin.

"So what are you plannin' to do? Sweep our Cap'n off her feet?" Robin joked.

It was then that M'raia realized what was going on. Marcus helped M'raia back onto her feet and out of the awkward moment.  
"I didn't… I mean, it wasn't like that! I just bumped into her, and..." Marcus started.

"Sure." Robin teased.

"All right, Robin that's enough!" M'raia said flatly. "Quit tormenting the poor boy, that' s an order." She finished, dusting herself off.

Marcus turned to M'raia. "I'm so sorry." He picked up his tablet. "I was just talking to my dad on a vidcall and wasn't watching where I was going..."

"Things happen, don't worry about it." M'raia said. "It's not like it's the end of the world." She giggled.

Marcus blushed, feeling the redness creep across his cheeks. "Well, uh… thank you for understanding."

As they parted company away, M'raia was taken aback by Marcus. He's rather cute for a Fox, she thought giggling to herself quietly.

"Ooh, the captain's a bit red in the face. I wonder why?" Robin asked, pushing his limits.

M'Raia shot him a glare that didn't need any translation.

"Okay, shutting up now." Robin said.

# # # # #

 _Meanwhile, on the Great Fox…_

Marcus walked onto the deck from the docking area, still somewhat flustered by recent events. He quickly walked towards mess hall, hoping to get some tea to calm his nerves after his run-in with the Federation officers. He prayed Falco wasn't in the mess hall, seeing as he could feel the sides of his face still felt red-hot.

Unfortunately, as he walked in Falco was over in the kitchen. Right where Marcus was planning to go.

Marcus ignored Falco as he walked in, grabbed some tea, then went to his quarters. Once in there, he slammed down the thermos on a table and let our a yell.

"ARGH! IDIOT!" He yelled at himself in the mirror, pulling on his ears. "How could you mess that up?! All you had to do was greet her politely and say..." He went through various scenarios in the mirror. "Anything would have been better than making it look like I'm trying to literally sweep her off her feet in public!"

There was a beep at the door. "Marcus, open this door..." Miranda shouted. "Stop beating yourself up..."

Marcus rushed to the door, flustered. "I'm _not_ beating myself up!"

"Yes, you are." Miranda said with a deadpan. "You're going through all sorts of scenarios in your head due to your run-in with the Starfleet Captain M'raia."

Marcus facepalmed. "Dammit! I keep forgetting you're the one with the telepathy!"

Miranda sighed. "Considering it was an accident, I highly doubt your captain..."

"She's not my captain!" Marcus snapped.

"Sorry…" She sardonically corrected herself. "I doubt _the_ captain thought you were some kind of womanizer who sweeps women off their feet in public. You do have our dad's way with women after all…."

"I do not! I am not that bad!"

"Must I remind you about that crush you had on that fox girl in eleventh grade?"

"Shut up, do not bring that up again." Marcus said flatly. "I get your point, and dammit why did you have to read my mind about that again? Please stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" Miranda asked. "Come on, you're basically projecting your thoughts at this point."

Marcus sighed. " _Anyway_ , why else did you come in here? Besides to torment me?"

It was then that both their communicators went off. Marcus answered his. "Yeah, dad?"

"Marcus, we got a call from Peppy. He's on the line as we speak, and has something to tell you."

"All right, we're on our way." Marcus nodded and shut off the communicator.

 _Great Fox III_

 _Bridge_

Peppy was on the view screen as Marcus and Miranda arrived on the bridge.

"Marcus, the council has decided we need to enhance our relationship with the Federation. We have decided to start an exchange program of officers, selecting some of the brightest and most talented people in our reserve to participate. You are one of those selected due to your experience with Captain M'Raia and the _Tolkien_."

Marcus went deadpan silent, awe struck by the luck of the situation. "...T-thank you sir!" He finally spoke up after a long pause. "I'm very honored to be part of this program."

Peppy smiled. "Glad to hear it. You'll be transferred tomorrow to one of their ships. Get packed for a few weeks, and get some good sleep tonight, Marcus. You'll need it."


	10. Chapter 9: Officer Exchange

Chapter 9

Officer Exchange

Captain Chang Hirozanru waited for the Cornerian exchange officer to show up. It had only been a few hours ago that he received word back from Admiral Picard that they had started an officer exchange program with the Cornerian Government.

A few minutes later, a young Cornerian entered the bridge from the Turbolift. She had the appearance of a Lynx. A humanoid Lynx, anyway. She was wearing the standard Cornerian officer's uniform. Standard, unless you didn't count the mercenary Star Fox logo embroidered on her jacket. Chang could see she was the flirty, skilled-but-cocky type of person, judging by her stance when she walked onto the bridge. That, and her stride was full of confidence. An admirable trait.

"Miyu Lynx, reporting for duty Captain Hiro." She said in a formal tone.

"At ease, Miss Lynx." Captain Hiro said. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you, sir." Miyu replied. "General Peppy has briefed me on the situation. So, with all due respect, where is my assigned station?"

"Over there, where Icheb is currently. He's been having to substitute for the Tactical officer's duties recently." Hiro motioned over to the Tactical station next to the Helm.

Icheb got up out of the Tactical station's chair, vacating the station so Miyu could take over. Miyu sat down at the station, familiarizing herself with the Lcars control system. Hiro got up out of his chair and went over to the tactical station as Miyu sat down. Hiro was going to give her an overview of the Tactical station.

"Okay, so these are the main phaser bank controls. You press this to power up the arrays. And this is the torpedo launcher controls. The bars above both the photon and phaser arrays controls the yield of the weapons, so the higher the bar is, the more yield the weapon has..."

# # # # # #

Marcus did his best to cap his nerves as he waited for the shuttle to take him from the Cornerian dry dock to take him to his new post: The _USS Tokein_. The memory of the incident on Corneria was still fresh in his mind. Okay, he thought to himself. No pressure, just the first actual assignment with the Federation. Don't think about Captain M'Raia and the incident. Don't think about the awkwardness of the situation, don't think about how much pressure you're going to be under on this posting, don't think about the sarcastic, embarrassing remarks of her tactical officer… Too late.

The Federation shuttle's engine hum jarred him from his thoughts as it landed. It was shaped teardrop-like with pylons for the warp engines. The Federation engineers called them "Nacelles." The shuttle was pointed at the nose, and the back large for cargo and boarding, with some sort type of micro-fusion engines on the sides.

The back of the shuttle opened. Inside was Ensign Nick Wilson. Marcus recognized him from the shore leave group with M'Raia. That, and Peppy had given him profiles of the senior officers of the _Tolkein_.

"Marcus McCloud?" Nick asked as Marcus stepped on board the shuttle.

"That's me." Marcus answered.

"Ensign Nick Wilson." Nick shook Marcus' hand. "I hear you will be the exchange officer filling in for the helm?"

"Yeah." Marcus answered as he sat down in one of the shuttle's chairs. "Never flown anything that big, though."

"Don't worry." Nick said. " _Tolkein_ _'s_ actually quite easy to fly. I should know, since you are filling my position while I'm in this officer exchange program. She's a beauty, too. Galaxy-class, Venture refit. Recently got the Bio-Neural circuitry upgrade, so she's really responsive. That, and a maximum warp speed of 9.26, that is if you don't count slipstream or trans-warp. Don't worry, you be good to her and she will be good to you."

I just hope her captain is as forgiving, Marcus thought as they took off back towards the _Tolkein._ A little while later after they broke through Corneria's atmosphere, they flew through space in orbit. A few moments later, they caught sight of the _Tolkein,_ with the _Apache,_ _Artemis, and Enterprise_ _._ As they got closer, Marcus was in awe: The _Tolkien_ was huge! Only the _Enterprise_ seemed comparable in size!

They started to dock in the _Tolkien's_ main shuttle bay. M'raia was waiting near the launchpad, with Lieutenant Robin Alan and the Tellarite main engineer he was briefed on beforehand named Nugrog Clahk.

"Well, time to meet the family. Again, welcome to the family Marcus." Nick said.

# # # # #

Marcus stepped off the shuttle to meet with M'raia and the others. He could feel the butterflies going through his stomach as he began to approach the Starfleet entourage.

M'Raia smiled at Marcus, as she looked over the datapad she was holding. "Ah, Mr. McCloud. Welcome aboard the Tolkein. I see you are slated to be our acting Helmsman during the duration of this assignment. You've already met my Tactical officer and Security Chief, Robin Alan. I would also like to introduce you to my Chief Engineer, Lieutenant-Commander Nugrog Clahk."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. McCloud." Clahk shook Marcus' hand. "So, what do you think of the Tolkein, so far?"

"She's quite… Gorgeous, I must say." Marcus said.

"Yes, I quite agree. Now, take good care of her, and try not to push her beyond her limits or I might be tempted to break your legs."

"Uh..." Marcus was hesitant, surprised by the intimidation.

"Hey! Just kidding… No, actually not kidding. Don't push her too hard. She may look like a giant tough slab of tritanium, but she's actually quite the delicate flower." Clahk finished as he pinned a Starfleet Combadge onto Marcus' vest. "Just tap this if you need to contact anyone on this ship. It's a communicator. Also, don't forget: General Peppy's being given a tour of the ship. I'll send you some diagrams of the decks so you can show him around. Don't forget to stop by Engineering!"

With that, Clahk went on his merry way back to Engineering.

Marcus was stumped. "Uh… Does he do that to everyone?"

"Oh, don't mind Clahk. He does that with all the new helmsman that come aboard." Robin said. "Anyways, I am the tactical officer of this fine vessel. My only request is that if we ever get engaged in combat, which I'm sure we will, just help me make sure I hit my targets. After all, nothin' like teamwork to make the dream work!"

"...And on that note, let's get back to our stations." M'Raia said. With that, the set off for one of the turbolifts to the bridge. "Don't worry. I'm not too demanding of a commander. Just do your job right the first time, and everything will go smoothly."

Robin chuckled in the background as they got in the turbolift. "Oh, ain't that the truth..."

M'Raia gave Robin a glare of warning. "Deck one." She said.

The turbolift began to rise through the ship, going up through the different decks.


	11. Chapter 10: Tolkein

Chapter 10

Tolkein

"Hmm… So I'm curious, would it be out of line to ask what kind of weaponry you have on your ships?" Robin asked.

"No, not at all." Marcus said. "Well, the beam weapons we carry are a type of particle weapon that uses nadeon particles to explosively separate the molecular bonds of an enemy ship's hull..."

"Wait a minute… so they are like Phasers, in a way?" Robin concluded. "Finally, a culture of culture! It's about time we came across another race that didn't get lazy and just use disruptors!"

Marcus chuckled. "Well, we have been developing the technology for about a century. Our arwing fighters use the same thing as the beam weapons on our capital ships, except it's less powerful and fired in pulses. Unfortunately, people still call the fighter-based weapons 'lasers' even though we haven't used lasers since the development of the beam technology."

"Huh. Interesting." Robin mused.

"Unfortunately, our projectile weapons are still rather… rudimentary compared to yours." Marcus explained. "We still use a variable-yield antimatter warhead, which is still in early development. But compared to your Photon Torpedoes, our warheads could be considered an outdated weapon..."

"Well, to be honest they sound like they are not that far off from our Photon torpedoes. They can still pack a good wallop, even against ships of our era." Robin said.

At that moment, the turbolift reached the bridge and the doors opened.

Marcus stepped out after Robin and M'Raia. He was impressed by the bridge layout! Two main consoles stood on the front of the bridge, and the back area was elevated to allow all stations to see the screen clearly. The back of the bridge was also covered with screens and stations, to allow for multiple purposes. And right in the center of the bridge was a slightly elevated platform with three chairs. Marcus saw M'raia go and sit in the center chair. He wasn't surprised. That was where he figured the captain would sit. On the chair to her left was an officer that looked human. She had a dark complexion and wore a starfleet uniform. Her hair was long, and in braids.

"Marcus, Your station is the conn. It's over there, on the right." M'Raia said, pointing to the station on her right at the front of the bridge.

Marcus walked over and took his seat at the conn. He had studied some on the LCARS control system when the _Apache_ was in dry dock. Plus, due to his experience as a pilot, he already pretty much knew what the layout meant.

"Okay, Mr. McCloud. We're going to have a bit of a shakedown cruise so you can get used to our old girl. I'd like you to take us to the planet Eladard, and back, warp one. Just a quick run around the block, to coin one of the captains of the _Enterprise._ "

"Yes, ma'am." Marcus said as he input the commands on the console and laid out the course the ship would take. "Course is laid in, warp one."

"Engage." M'Raia said.

With that, Marcus engaged the engines. Hopefully I don't screw this up, he thought to himself as the ship broke the warp barrier and the star field around the ship shifted to subspace.

 _Meanwhile…_

Dash Oikonny observed the troopers from his chair on the _VES Hatred_. They had already discreetly gotten into position behind the Asteroid field, where any energy sources would be blocked out by interference by the asteroids. He had plans for the _Apache_ , or at least her tactical officer. The man was incompetent, and was most likely to be scheduled for some sort of punishment. After all, no one would allow such incompetence to go unpunished. He would prove useful. In exchange for his survival and the ability to go free, or at least that's what would be proposed, he would give him alll the info on the new arrival's technology; Propulsion, weapons, shields… Everything.

 _Stealth Shuttle_

 _En Route to Infiltrate Space Dynamics Repair Yard_

The pilot held his breath as he maneuvered the shuttle towards the dock, passing the large ship. This was his first time they needed to use the cloak, not to mention having the secondary stealth drive stand by in case it failed. He kept his eye on the display as they closed the distance.

100,000 Kilometers… 90,000… 80,000… He could feel the sweat build up in his armor as they got closer. 70,000… 60,000… 50,000… He could feel how dry his mouth was. The ship had not detected them yet.

40,000… 30,000… 20,000… The slowed their descent as they came right up to the brig section on the ship's saucer section.

10,000… 8,000… 6,000… He kept an eye on the two Cornerian crusiers near the space dock. They weren't budging. Both ships, if they detected them would be able to vaporize the shuttle in an instant!

Thankfully, they weren't deviating from their patrols.

4,000… 2,000… The pilot felt the anxiety creep through his bones as he made minute course changes to keep them undetected. They approached an airlock, the pilot watching the distance count down…

1,000 kilomters…. 100 kilometers…. 1 kilometer… The pilot activated the magnetic seal and docking ring. 100 meters… the shuttle made contact with the station's docking ring. They were in.

He got on the ship's intercom. "All troopers, commence boarding procedures."


End file.
